Rolling mill



L. LEE

ROLLING MILL Jan. 19 1926.

Filed July 2. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 19 1926. 1,570,068

L. LEE

ROLLING MILL Filed J y 2, 1921 a Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 19 1926. 1,570,068

L. LEE

ROLLING MILL Filed July 2, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I in F o :I N q l\ v w k 83 L I I "S k0 11 l I fi- N Q "1 1 m "[M R? Q N I O3 i IL- In 9 3w LIL I In H a 2 Patented Jan. 19, 1926,

UNITED STATES LEI]? LEE, 0;! YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

ROLLING Application filed m 2, 1921. Serial- No. 452,150.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, LEIF LEE, residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rolling Mills, of which the followin is a full, clear, and exact description, re erence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part 0 this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view partly broken away of a rolling mill embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same; Figure 3 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section showing my improved top roll-driving mechanism;

Figure 4 is an end view of the same; and

Figure '5 is a face view showing one form of slip gear which may be employed.

My invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in rolling mills, and more particularly to mills for use in rolling steel sheets, although it may be used to advantage in rolling skelp and other sections.

In mills of this character, several stands of rolls are usually connected in line, the first or roughing passes being performed on one set of rolls and the finishing passes on another set of rolls. The bottom roll of each set is positively driven, all the bottom rolls being connected by couplings to form a continuous shaft. The top rolls are usually not positively driven, but are caused to rotate by the friction of the entering pleces. Consequently, the thickness of the piece is limited to that which will enter the rolls. In order to use .a wider range in the thickness of the pieces and to insure that the pieces will enter the rolls quickly andsurely, several methods have heretofore been proposed for driving the top rolls of the roughmg rolls.

The present invention is designed to provide improved means of novel and efiicient character for driving the top roll of a sheet mill roughing stand and which possesses several important advantages over any proposed means with which I am familiar. The nature of the invention and its mode of operation will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown the preferred embodiment thereof and which will now be described, it being premised, however, that various changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and operation of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

In these drawings, the numeral 2 designates the bottom and 3 the top roll of a sheet mill roughing stand, said rolls being mounted in any usual or suitable manner in housings 4. 5 designates any usual or suitable screw-down mechanism for the top roll. 7 designates thecoupling sections by which the lower rolls are connected to the lower rolls ofadjacent mills, a portion of one of such adjacent mills being shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In accordance with my invention, I rigidly secure to the coupling section 7 a gear wheel 8, whose teeth mesh with the teeth of a gear wheel 9, which is loosely mounted on a shaft 10. This shaft 10 is supported above the shaft 7 and parallel with the axis thereof in suitable bearings 11, which may be mounted on the bracket 12, which, in turn, is supported on the cradle 13, carried on the housing shoes 14. The gear wheel 9 is connected to the shaft 10 to drive the latter through any suitable form of slipgearing,

such, for instance, as that described and claimed in my United States Patent No. 1,443,026, dated January 23, 1923. This gearing consists of a plurality of lever mem bers 15, which are rigidly secured to the shaft 10 and carry spring-pressed rollers 16, which are in contact with the more or less irregular inner surface of a rim member 17, rigidly attached to the gear 9. The frictional engagement between the rollers and the inner face of the rim member may be increased or decreased, as desired, by regulating the tension of the controlling springs, and thereby provide for slipping between the gear 9 and shaft 10 whenever the torque exceeds a predetermined maximum. The shaft 10 is connected to the spindle 18 of the top roll by any suitable universal joint connection 19, which will adapt itself to, the tensions of the top roll. The invention is also applicable, with advantage, to continuous s elp and sheet bar mills.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those familiar with this type of mill, since it provides a positive drive for the top roll deriving its power from the lower roll, and without the necessity of "any 1. In a rolling mill, a roll stand, an up-- per and lower roll journaled inthe stand,- roll adjusting mechanism for permitting the spacing of the u per roll-with relation to the lower roll, a riving s indle operatively connected to the lower rol a gear shaft in fixed spaced relation to the driving spindle, a universal connection between the gear shaft and the upper roll, and SH gear connections between the sindle and the gear shaft, whereby the upper roll'is frictionallydriven by the spindle, substantially as described.

2. In a'rolling mill, a roll stand, an upper and lower roll journaled in the stand,

roll adjusting mechanism for permitting the spacing of the upper roll with relation to thelower roll, a driving spindle operatively connected to the lower roll, a gearv shaft in fixed spaced relation to the driving spmdle, a universal connection between the ear shaft and the upper roll, a gear fixedl v connected to the spindle, and a gear on the gear shaft meshing with the gear on the s .indle for frictionally driving the gear shaft, whereby the upper roll is frictionally driven by the spindle, substantially as described.

3. In a rolling mill, a roll stand, an upper roll and a lower roll journaled in the stand, roll adjustin mechanism for ermitting the spacing of t e u per roll with relation to t we lower roll, a driving spindle operativel connected to the lower roll, a gear sha journaled adjacent both ends in' bearings supported on housings straddling the spindie, a universal connection between the gear shaft and the upper roll, and slip gear connections between the s indle and the shaft, substantially as escribed.

at. In a rolling mill, a plurality of roll stands in end to end relationship, a driving spindle operatively connected at its opposite ends to the adjacent ends of the bottom rolls in adjacent stands, a gear shaft, slip gearing connecting the gear shaft to the driving spindle, and a universal connection-between the gear shaft and the upper roll of one of the stands, substantially as described.

5. In a rolling mill a plurality of roll stands in end to end relationship, a driving spindle operatively connected at its opposite ends to the adjacent ends of the bottom rolls in adjacent stands, a" gear shaft, a gear fixedly connected to the spindle, and a slip gear on the gear shaft meshin with the gear on the spindle for frictiona ly driving the upper roll, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set" my hand.

LEIF LEE.

gear 

